Westland Business Park's quoted rate is $4.56 per sf. Driskill says Duke is offering up to $5 per sf for tenant improvements. He adds that the Bray deal was “on par” with the ask. Bray will move in Feb. 1.

“That technically was a prelease. We have proposals out for what's left in that building,” Driskill says. The lease, along with a recent sale of 5.3 acres for a build-to-suit, is pushing Duke into the planning stages for Westland's second phase, a 300,000-sf spec building, dubbed Westland II. “Based on the activity in the first building if we get another deal or two, we can kick off the next,” he says, adding that a second-quarter 2008 groundbreaking is likely for the next building.

Driskill says that, given the land remaining, an extra 160,000 sf could also be in the works, depending on market conditions. The plan right now is to build the remaining park all spec, but Driskill says Duke certainly wouldn't refuse another land buy for a build-to-suit.

The Bray lease puts Duke ahead of its lease-up schedule. “We're pleased to have a prelease in Houston. We were hoping for one,” Driskill says. “With the activity we have left, we could beat our estimates.”